Hussain stands by Fletcher's take on Flintoff

Dubai: Former England captain Nasser Hussain defended former England coach Duncan Fletcher's exposure of Andrew Flintoff's drinking binge during the Ashes tour.

In his much-awaited autobiography Behind the Scenes, Fletcher has mentioned that very often Flintoff turned up for practice sessions under the influence of alcohol and in a state that he could hardly throw or take catches.

To a query from Gulf News on whether it was ethical on the part of a coach to reveal tell-tale details about his players after retirement, Hussain remarked: "Fletcher had always defended his players and never let anything out, especially all those things which used to happen behind the scene with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

"Fletcher has handled himself very well and it is time for him to have his say on what happened behind the scenes. Fletcher has retired and it is his opinion. If Flintoff wishes to voice his opinion, he is also free to do it."

Hussain, who is here as the guest-of-honour for the HSBC Challenge Cup, went on to hail Fletcher's contribution to English cricket. "His contribution to English cricket has been invaluable. For four years, England did not lose a series under him. From being known as one of the worst sides in the world, they went on to become the world's second-best team, winning even the Ashes."

The former England captain also expressed his optimism over England dominating world cricket. "England played well against India, though they did not do well in Twenty20. They did really well in Sri Lanka and Paul Collingwood is shaping up well as a captain. Players like Ian Bell have stood out," noted Hussain, who played in 96 Test matches and 88 one-dayers.

"We have some good good bowlers like [Ryan] Sidebottom, [James] Anderson and [Stuart] Broad, and young batsmen like Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah. England are moving in the right direction. But it is important that we do not get carried away after two or three good months," he cautioned.

However, Hussain criticised England for rubbing India's Zaheer Khan up the wrong way during the Trent Bridge Test.

"One should not wind up certain players. That's when they perform at their best ... like Yuvraj did recently. In County cricket there was one Monty Lynch. Keith Fletcher used to tell us never wind him up, only then can one get him out."